Sole-support plate for ski bindings

ABSTRACT

A sole-support plate for ski bindings which can be mounted on a base plate of a ski-binding part. The base plate is held onto the upper side of a ski by means of fastening screws, and is held against a lifting off in its mounted state and is also secured against a movement relative to the ski by means of a locking system. A block is formed by the fastening screw and engages a detent formed in a recess in the sole-support plate to prevent the aforesaid relative movement.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a sole-support plate for ski bindings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A sole-support plate of this type is perhaps described, for example, inAustrian Patent No. 356 561 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,062).The sole-support plate is thereby held against an unintended lifting offin its mounted state in the form of a spring/groove guide on the baseplate of the ski-binding part by means of its two lateral extensions. Tolock the sole-support plate on the ski-binding part against a movementin longitudinal direction of the ski, of course further structuralparts, as for example, a detent cooperating with a locking recess on theother structural part of the ski binding, are needed.

A further development of this known solution according to AustrianPatent No. 363 020 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,062) also doesnot overcome this disadvantage.

Austrian Patent No. 361 824 discloses an adjusting plate, which will beremoved after the ski binding has been screwed on tightly. Theextensions of the adjusting plate, which extensions are used to receivethe screws, are for this purpose provided with fork prongs, which arebroken off by the force occurring during tightening of the screws(compare Page 5, lines 17 to 25). Thus the extensions disclosed in thisreference cannot be compared to the keyhole-like recesses used in theinvention to constantly hold the sole-support plate on the fasteningscrews. They also do not suggest the solution of the invention.

Devices with keyhole-like constructed recesses on the upper side of theski or on mounting plates for receiving locking elements provided onski-binding parts are known from German OS Nos. 23 63 562 and 26 13 387.Of course, these keyhole-like recesses are designed with a closedcontour since the locking elements of the binding members are guidedexclusively from above into the recesses. A keyhole-like recess with afree straight section, as this is disclosed in the closest state of theart according to Austrian Patent No. 356 561 and has already beenconsidered above, is not disclosed in these two references.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the invention is to provide a sole-support plate of theabove-mentioned type such that, aside from the fastening screws neededfor fixing the ski-binding part on a ski, no further structural partsare needed for mounting the sole-support plate.

Since according to the invention, the fastening screw acts as a blockengageable with a detent in a recess in the sole-support plate, whichrecess is shaped like a keyhole and opening frontwardly in its straightsection to serve as a matching notch, a separate locking mechanism isnot needed. Due to the fact that the sole-support plate has at its areafacing the ski-binding part the keyhole-like recess, the centerline ofwhich is in alignment with the centerline of the fastening screw on theski-binding part, the detent being formed by fastening screw itself, amounting or demounting of the sole-support plate on the ski-binding partis easily possible.

In view of the forces occurring both outwardly and also inwardly in thehorizontal plane on the ski-binding parts, it is advantageous to providea pair of screws symmetrically on opposite sides of a center axis of thebase plate.

Actually it would be possible to design the recesses in the sole-supportplate, which recesses receive the screwheads, to be suitable forcountersunk screws. However, it has been proven to be advantageous ifthese bores are receiving points with a clearance of approximately 0.5mm for fillister-head screws. This simplifies the manufacturing processsince no attention need be paid to tolerances on fit and still aconnection safe from an unintended relative movement between thefillister-head screw and the recesses is guaranteed. A seal ringprovided around each fastening screw creates a safe closure forpreventing snow, ice and other undesired contaminants from penetratinginto the bore holding the screw.

To be complete, it is mentioned that it has already become known in adevice, according to Austrian Patent No. 361 824 used to fastenski-binding parts on a base or stepping plate on a ski, to use forklikeextensions for receiving of screws, which are then screwed into the ski.This known device, however, was designed as a one-way part and is usedexclusively as a mounting aid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in greater detail in connection with thedrawings, which illustrate one exemplary embodiment and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sole-support plate of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the lineII--II of FIG. 1 with the sole-support plate being partially moved on,

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2,however, in the position of use of the sole-support plate,

FIG. 4 is a top view of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V--V of FIG. 2,and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI--VI of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The base plate 2 of a jaw member 3, which is only partially indicated,and which is used as a ski-binding part, is fixed on a ski 1, as shownin FIG. 1, by means of a pair of fastening screws, namely,fillister-head screws 4 with a conical tapering head. The screws 4 arealready placed into the base plate 2 in a conventional manner; thisembodiment is not part of the subject matter of the present invention. Ametal band 5 is furthermore fastened to the base plate 2, which metalband carries a further jaw member here not illustrated. The measure touse in a ski binding a metal band to connect its two jaw members isknown and also is not part of the subject matter of the presentinvention.

A sole-support plate 6, the design of which is an important feature ofthe invention and which will be described hereinafter, can be moved ontothe base plate 2. Such a sole-support plate 6 is used to hold down thesole of a ski boot, with the sole-support plate 6 itself being designedsuch that it guarantees in a conventional manner an unhindered passageof the metal band 5 therethrough even when the ski 1 is bent.

As one can particularly take from FIG. 1, the sole-support plate 6 hasextensions 7 extending in direction of the base plate 2 of the jawmember 3. A cross-piece 8 is constructed on the sole-support plate 6between the two extensions 7, which cross-piece--referred to itslongitudinal center axis--is offset rearwardly symmetrically andrelative to the free end areas of the two extensions 7. The rearwardlyextending sections of the extensions 7 are connected by means of abridge section 9 which is elevated relative to the plane of thecross-piece 8 and having in a conventional manner a recessed receivingarea 9a for the insertion of a guide plate 10 made of a low frictionmaterial, for example, of polytetrafluoroethylene. A sloped transitionarea 11 extends between the bridge section 9 and the cross-piece 8.Thus, it is guaranteed that a ski boot with its sole rests only on theguide plate 10 assuring a precalculated release operation.

A keyhole-like recess 12, with a free, straight section 13 and with anadjacent head section 14 designed as a bore, is provided between theindividual extensions 7 and the cross-piece 8. Each free, straightsection 13 of the individual recesses 12 is dimensioned such that theshaft 4a of the associated fillister-head screw 4 can move therethroughunhindered. Through the movement of the sole-support plate 6 onto thebase plate 2, the individual shafts 4a of the two fillister-head screws4 simultaneously guide the sole-support plate 6. The free, straightsection 13 of each recess 12 is followed by a circular head section 14,which head section 14 is provided for receiving the head 4b of theassociated pre-inserted fillister-head screw 4. In the mounted state ofthe sole-support plate 6 on the base plate 2 of the jaw member 3, theindividual fillister-head screws 4 sit with their head 4b in theindividual head sections 14 of the sole-support plate 6 and lock sameagainst an unintended movement in longitudinal direction of the ski awayfrom the base plate 2.

To lock the sole-support plate 6 against an unintended lifting off fromthe upper side of the ski 1, two extensions 7 each have a groove 7a, theheight of which is dimensioned with play/normal clearance correspondingwith the thickness s of the base plate 2 and the length of whichguarantees a safe guiding of the sole-support plate 6 on the base plate2. The depth of each groove 7a is dimensioned such that the sole-supportplate 6 can be guided with play/normal clearance on the width of thebase plate 2. The exact position of the sole-support plate 6 on the baseplate 2 is determined in the mounted state by the two fillister-headscrews 4.

If the sole-support plate 6 is now supposed to be moved into itsoperating position, it is moved on along the metal band 5 in directionof the base plate 2 of the jaw member 3. One position during thismovement, namely, when the shafts 4a of the two fillister-head screws 4are in the area of the free, straight sections 13 of the keyhole-likerecesses 12, is shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. It can easily be recognized inthese figures that both for the mounting and for the demounting thefillister-head screws 4 must not yet be completely screwed into or outof the bores in order to guarantee an unhindered moving on or moving offof the sole-support plate 6. This measure shows at the same time thatfor a possible exchange of the sole-support plate 6, the individualfillister-head screws 4 must only be loosened, however, must not beunscrewed from their bores. However, this has the result that, on theone hand, the receiving bores of the screws are not worn much and, onthe other hand, the base plate 2 of the jaw member 3 remains always inits mounted position.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the sole-support plate 6 in its mounted state. Thefillister-head screws 4 are thereby completely screwed in; each head 4bof each fillister-head screw 4 sitting thereby with the interpositioningof a seal ring 4c, preferably of rubber, in the head section 14 of theassociated keyhole-like recess 12. The upper sides of the individualheads 4b of the fillister-head screws 4 terminate flush with the frontcover side 15 of the sole-support plate 6. It is thus prevented thatprojecting screw parts hinder the ski boot in its movements. By usingseal rings 4c, it is furthermore guaranteed that moisture, due to snowor ice, does not penetrate into the keyhole-like recesses 12. FIG. 2shows furthermore how the two extensions 7 of the sole-support plate 6grip around the base plate 2, with the embossments 2a constructed on thebase plate below the individual fillister-head screws 4 guaranteeing aflat support of base plate 2 and sole-support plate 6.

The invention has been also described in connection with a metal bandcarrying another jaw member at its other end. If necessary, however, itis also possible to use a sole-support plate of the invention without ametal band.

If, however, a metal band exists as indicated in the present example, itis advantageous when the area of the sole-support plate 6, which areaextends in direction toward the other jaw member, can be guided on themetal band 5 according to a further characteristic of the invention. Themetal band 5 is in such a design used as a guide for the side surfacesof the sole-support plate 6, which side surfaces are constructed incross section as a U-profile lying on its side. This arrangement isshown in FIG. 6, which is a cross section taken along the line VI--VI ofFIG. 3. Even though the description does not differentiate between afront and a rear jaw member, it can be recognized from the furtherinformation that the exemplary embodiment relates to a sole-supportplate 6 in connection with a jaw member 3 designed as a front jaw. Asole-support plate designed according to the invention and intended forthe heel of the ski boot could be utilized with the same advantage. Onlychanges in dimensions and adjustments in the design would here beneeded, which lie easily within the know-how of an average man skilledin the art.

The invention is not to be limited to the illustrated exemplaryembodiment. It has already been mentioned that the front and the rearpart of the entire ski binding can be exchanged with one another. It isfurthermore conceivable to use inventively designed sole-support platesboth in the front and also in the rear jaw area. It is furthermoreconceivable to use, for sealing the space between the head section 14 ofthe individual recesses 12 and the heads 4b of the individualfillister-head screws 4, a seal ring 4c made of an easily deformableplastic in place of rubber.

Another modification would be to provide the base plate 2 of the jawmember 3 with a groove and to design the individual extensions 7 of thesole-support plate 6 as springs cooperating with the grooves. Such adesign can be advantageous when the base plate is supported to rest withits underside completely on the upper side of the ski. Of course, thisdesign has the disadvantage that the two extensions of the sole-supportplate may be weakened. The capability of resistance of the entiresole-support plate with respect to its lateral support is with this,however, also reduced compared with the earlier described design. Anadvantage results, however, from the outer side surfaces of theextensions being designed as springs, which outer side surfaces are inalignment with the two side surfaces of the base plate of the jawmember.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. In a sole-support platefor ski bindings which is releasably fastened to a base plate of aski-binding part, which base plate is adapted to be secured to the upperside of a ski by means of at least one fastening screw received in abore in said base plate, at least one of said base plate and saidsole-support plate having a groove on each of two laterally oppositelylying and vertically extending side surfaces, another of said base plateand said sole-support plate having lateral edges each being received ina respective groove on said at least one of said sole-support plate andsaid base plate and in a mounted state of said sole-support plate, saidsole-support plate is thus held against lifting off from said baseplate, said sole-support plate including at least one detent forpreventing a movement of said sole-support plate relative to said baseplate in a longitudinal direction of the ski, at least one recess alsobeing provided on said sole-support plate, the improvement wherein saidrecess has a keyhole shape comprising a free straight section and a headsection, wherein said recess is located on a region of said sole-supportplate facing the ski-binding part, a longitudinal centerline of saidrecess being in alignment with a centerline of the fastening screw,wherein said detent is defined by said fastening screw itself, andwherein a width of said free straight section of each keyhole-shapedrecess generally corresponds with an outside diameter of a shaft portionof said associated fastening screw, said head section of said recessdefining a block engageable with said detent for preventing saidmovement of said sole-support plate relative to said base plate.
 2. Thesole-support plate according to claim 1, wherein, and referring to alongitudinal center axis of said base plate for the ski-binding part,two fastening screws are provided in a mirror-image symmetricalarrangement on opposite sides of said center axis, and wherein saidsole-support plate has two keyhole-shaped recesses in a correspondingmirror-image symmetrical arrangement on opposite sides of said centeraxis.
 3. The sole-support plate according to claim 1, wherein eachfastening screw is a fillister-head screw having a conically taperingscrewhead, wherein each head section of said recess, receives saidfastening screw therein, is constructed as a bore having a clearance ofgenerally 0.5 mm. greater than said head of said fillister-head screwassociated with said recess, and wherein in the mounted state of saidsole-support plate said head of said fillister-head screw terminatesflush with a front cover side of said sole-support plate.
 4. Thesole-support plate according to claim 3, wherein a seal ring is insertedinto said recess under said head of said fillister-head screw.
 5. Thesole-support plate according to claim 1, wherein said pair of laterallyspaced extensions are provided on said sole-support plate and extendforwardly toward the ski binding part, each extension having a sidewallfacing toward the other thereof, each sidewall having a said groovetherein and extending coextensively therewith.
 6. The sole-support plateaccording to claim 5, wherein each groove on said extensions has aheight which is generally equal to, with added clearance, the thicknessof said base plate.
 7. The sole-support plate according to claim 1, inwhich in the area of the bore in said base plate, embossments areprovided on an underside of said base plate and encircling said bore,wherein in the mounted state of said sole-support plate, undersides ofsaid pair of extensions lie in a common plane, which plane is coplanarwith a support plane defined by a downwardly facing surface on saidembossment.
 8. The sole-support plate according to claim 1, wherein apair of ski binding parts are provided and are connected to each otherby means of a metal band, wherein a bridge section is provided on anarea of said sole-support plate projecting rearwardly of saidski-binding part, said bridge section including means for guiding saidsole-support plate for longitudinal movement on said metal band.
 9. Thesole-support plate according to claim 8, wherein means for guiding saidsole-support plate is a groove, lateral edges of which guidingly engagelateral edges of said metal band.